The Daily Teen

By: Carlyn Costo

The Daily Teen

By: Carlyn Costo

The Advertising Industry Must Change

Society is littered with unrealistic images of women. In Today’s World, teens and adolescents are struggling with all types of body image and self esteem issues. One of the biggest contributors is, in fact, the media. Sadly, many young women are ashamed of their own body images (The Media and Body) Susie Tanner spoke up about the issue and said, “When I see those magazines while grocery shopping or eating at a restaurant, it makes me feel like I’m not good enough. It adds negative thoughts to my self consci ous, and as a women, I worry about that too much already.” An insider from People’s Magazine commented back and said “Although it may make young women feel bad about themselves, this is our industry and what the advertising business screams for. Thin, Beautiful women- and hey, it sells, doesn’t it?” If this is the case, something definitely needs to be done about this. The excessive amount of exposure to the media and these images needs to change, likewise, the societal pressure to be thinner than ever. 83% of teenagers reportedly read magazines to get information about beauty, and fitness; spending an average of 4.3 hours looking at these false images (Westminister College: a private). Models shown in these images are often under what is considered healthy body weight, which sends the message that women must sacrifice their health to be considered attractive by societal standards. This issue must be brought to the public’s attention.